Structuring a Cohort or Program on DFOS

DFOS makes infrastructure for cohort and program-based communities: one space that holds the chat, the paid access, the calendar, and the material together, instead of stitching separate tools for each piece. Here's what maps to what.

Groups#

Each group has its own chat, posts, and files, and is set to open, paid, invite-only, or private. A cohort with different levels of involvement (a public intro layer, a paid working group, an alumni space) is a few groups stacked together, not one space doing everything. Decide whether your cohort lives in one group or splits into a few (by week, by track, by project) before you build the desktop.

Access#

Two layers: how someone gets into the space at all (invite only, application, open, allowlist), and what mode each group inside is in (open, paid, invite-only, private). You can be selective about the door and open behind it, or the other way round.

Payment#

Paid groups sell through keys: one-time (with free-to-collect or pay-what-you-want options) or subscription. One product can unlock several groups at once, so a single cohort fee can grant the group chat, the resource group, and a critique group together instead of selling each separately.

Pacing#

If a program is meant to unfold week by week, the workaround is staggering group unlocks or scheduling announcements by hand. No native drip-release yet.

Calendar#

Events can be scoped to members, one group, admins only, or public, and can recur weekly or monthly. This is what carries a cohort's live rhythm: a weekly call, a recurring critique session, office hours.

Directory#

The member directory lets people in a cohort see who else is in it. Worth turning on and populating before people arrive.

Paying collaborators#

To pay a co-teacher or guest facilitator, an admin moves funds from the space's treasury to their wallet ("Pay members"), and they withdraw from there. Automated splits are on their way.